Happy Dussehra / Vijaya Dasami _ Paala Bellam Pongal ~ Rice Pudding ~ Sweet rice with milk, jaggery, dried fruits and nuts ~ An offering to Durga maa!

We @ Curry In Kadai, wish you all a very happy Dasara( Vijaya Dasami ). May this Dusshera light up for you and bring in happiness for one and all! For us Dussehra means celebrating it at ammamma( grandma ) house. Wow, we used to go to Kalikamma temple everyday during dussehra, and amma(goddess) would be dressed in different avatars everyday. I remember, in my grandmas place the goddesses are 5 sisters and each sister will be in different color, like yellow, white, red, etc.,

All these 10 days the goddesses or ammas come out for Oregimpu( a procession ). A person would sit behind the goddess figure and starts dancing according to the music. And sometimes the person would be possessed by the goddess( poonakam ). We when kids used to have mixed feelings, like half scared and half interested in the whole proceedings. We miss all the happenings here in US though!

Here's is a Milk porridge, Paala payasam/sirannam, rice cooked and simmered in whole milk and cooked with raisins, badam(almonds), dried coconut, cashew nuts and elaichi that is mostly offered to god as prasadam. A must in any festival in moms house!

Here are some pictures and i will post the recipe soon!!

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

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